Aggressive, in-your-face, and a “don’t care a damn” attitude – that’s Virat Kohli for you.But he backs that up with world-class performances on the field and this makes the Indian captain a player extraordinaire.
The Kohli Brand today has surpassed even that of Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
Kohli has been breaking records regularly and the way he is going, he may well surpass some of Sachin Tendulkar’s achievements. He is on top his game at the moment, his captaincy is sparking and more importantly it is producing results.
India is on a golden run under his captaincy and is number one in the ICC Test ranking, second in the one-day internationals (ODIs) and fifth in T20s. Kohli is also number one batsman in ODIs and sixth in Tests. These rankings plus his batting statistics in all forms have reaffirmed the fact that he among the best cricketers in the world.
Unfortunately the ride has never been easy for Kohli. He fit into all formats very easily after an initial stutter. Those who watched him knew that here was a future star.
However, India is blessed with critics who have never played cricket or those who have had unhappy careers. These gents kept dissecting Kohli for every failure of his, putting imaginary hurdles in his path. There was a time when Kohli had a few problems outside the off stump. He kept edging to slips and the Big Talk began.
These armchair critics went after him with knives drawn. Somebody should have given them a bat and told them to demonstrate what they say against those bowlers. A sign of a good cricketer is he learns from his mistakes. All players have some fault or the other in their techniques and it is their greatness which allows them to rectify it.
Also everybody forgets that there is something called the law of averages. It catches up with all players one time or the other. Unfortunately, even some of our former cricketers are so jealous of the current Indian players that they keep criticising them. They could never help India reach the heights it has reached now, first under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and now Kohli.
If Kohli is spared then Dhoni becomes the whipping boy these days. Even Kohli’s private life is being spied upon
A few days ago, former ace cricketer Rahul Dravid voiced concern that Kohli’s aggressive behaviour may have an impact on younger players. He is right. But there are wise heads in the team like Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane who can guide them properly. Cricket is a team game and there is a lot of unity among the Indian players. Kohli himself wouldn’t want someone to ape him.
In many ways, Kohli is a unique character who has the aggression and mindset of an Aussie. He may cross the limit sometimes but he backs it up with performance. Today the Kohli Brand stands above everybody else. Let’s appreciate the man and give him credit for this honour.
He is an aggressive player and there will be good days and bad days. His type of game often leads to ups and downs. We must stand by Kohli, good or bad. He has transformed the game by keeping a positive mindset. The crowds are back, even for the Test matches.
Boring draws are long gone. Today, India wins and that has sent the game on the upswing. Thank you, Kohli.
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#All views expressed in this column are the authors.
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